May 19

Tip: Don’t forget about body language when in a scene. Give us dialogue, but also give us a “look” at the characters. Have an angry person shove past a stranger on the street. Show the character slumping to the floor as the love interest leaves. Show us how they’re feeling.

Thought: “No one can write a best seller by trying to. He must write with complete sincerity; the clichés that make you laugh, the hackneyed characters, the well-worn situations, the commonplace story that excites your derision, seem neither hackneyed, well worn nor commonplace to him…. The conclusion is obvious: you cannot write anything that will convince unless you are yourself convinced. The best seller sells because he writes with his heart’s blood.” – W. Somerset Maugham

Teaser: You’ve been asked to do a workshop for a local writer’s group – what would you do one on?